February garden to do

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Some February garden task reminders from Tulsa Master Gardeners www.tulsamastergardeners.org


Spray fruit with dormant oil when the air is 40-F

Spray peaches and nectarines with lime-sulfur fungicide to control peach leaf curl. Lime-sulphur spray is not available in OK so use copper or other fungicide on a day that temperatures will not drop to freezing.

Fertilize house plants, trees, Crape Myrtle with high phosphorus fertilizer (middle number)

Prune fruit trees, grapes, shade trees, plus any ornamentals that do not bloom in the spring. Do not prune crape myrtles yet.

February is a good time to plant trees, bare root roses, berries, asparagus and cool season vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, cabbage, peas and potatoes.

Plant seeds of flowers that need a cold period, including: snapdragons, calendula, coreopsis, strawflowers, cornflowers, larkspur and California poppies.

Take cuttings of the tender plants you overwintered indoors and grow the cuttings into plants, placing them in moist, sterile medium such as peat moss, vermiculite, and/or perlite.

Wrap young tree trunks to prevent sun scald.

Bring branches of budding forsythia or Golden Bells, and ornamental flowering almond (Prunus glandulosa), inside to force blooming. Crush the bottom of the branch before putting in a vase of warm water and put in a sunny place.

If you mow, set the mower at 2.5 inches high.

Get out and enjoy this balmy weather. We know it is just a break before winter returns.

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